Ashes
by ResidentOfCabin6
Summary: Rose's seventh birthday should've been a happy time, filled with parties cake and ice cream. Sadly, it wasn't. When something went wrong in the forge that day, the Valdez family was torn apart, and nothing can put it back together again.(Caleo death-fic)(Separate universe from my story Family)(One-shot)(Poor quality compared to my other work but I lack the heart to take it down)


**Don't kill me. Please. I almost died writing this, and trust me, I want them to have a happy life. I was in the mood one night, and this happened, and I practically made myself cry. So, yeah. Caleo death. Reviews are welcome, I always love hearing ways to improve, and if you see any typos, let me know and I'll correct them. Hope you live through this without your heart torn in pieces. :'(**

 **-ROC6**

Leo held her tiny hand in his. He knew she was impervious to flames, but he was afraid a Titan's blood could have diluted his powers so they didn't completely shield her from the blistering heat attacking them. Pulling her along, he was painfully aware of her tiny hand straining against his, desperate to get back into the forge, to where she was playing with her toys, deeper into the flames. It didn't cease to amaze him how swiftly the heat assaulting them was able to move through the house, straining hungrily at them as they moved past.

The orange tickled his face, a surprisingly pleasant sensation for their desperate situation. He could feel sweat pouring down his forehead, and his lungs felt raw, as if someone had scraped them up and down with sandpaper. He knew smoke could kill him after awhile, the more strenuous the activity, the sooner the effect. For awhile, he could last in the smoke just fine, working on his projects, but no human could live without getting oxygen to their brain, flameproof or not. He learned that the hard way when he had to stall out the machine shop fire all those years ago.

Rose's sweaty hand slipped from his, and she ran back into the fire, not realizing the danger she was in, as fire had never hurt her. He chased her six year old frame for a moment, this time sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her in hopes of making quicker progress. She curled against him, a coughing fit racking her body. Her spritely features contorted in confusion and nervousness as she caught onto the implications.

The inside of the house was like a laser light show, orange, yellow and red flashing through the rooms, streaked with black when one of Rose's curly locks flew in front of his face.

It felt like forever, but it was likely no more than a minute or two before he was clutching her tightly to his body as they hurtled out the front door. She coughed a couple times before climbing to her feet, "Daddy, where's Mommy? Is she still in there?"

Leo fought to push down the urge he had been suppressing the whole time, and tried to keep his desperation out of his voice, "Yes she is, and I'm going to go get her. I want you to go to the neighbors house and call 911, tell Mister and Missus Stoll what's happening, then come wait on the lawn a safe distance from the flames."

She looked at him her eyes wide, "You will come back though, right Daddy?"

He kissed her forehead, "Of course."

"Promise?" Rose asked, her eyes glistening.

Leo hesitated, "Promise."

He turned to to go, but on impulse, he hugged his daughter, "Remember, _mi genio_ , Mommy and I love you very much."

Then, Leo ran into the flames, ignoring the voice in the back of his head, nagging he should have said more of a goodbye.

 **-()-()-()-**

The flames, always a part of him, tickled as he ran through them, no longer caring about the smoke. He checked the house, first the family room, then Calypso's garden, her weavery. Finally, he found her in the kitchen. The door had been blocked by falling portions of the ceiling, and it took him a moment to climb over them. She was sitting on the floor, leaning on the oven. The cake batter she was preparing for Rose's birthday cake lay forgotten in it's bowl on the counter. Calypso herself was wheezing horribly, her white dress singed, and some of her hair was missing. In some places her flesh was angry and pink, some burns going dangerously deep. Her hands were covered in angry, red blisters. It was obvious she had tried to escape. There were tears dripping down her face and her eyes were bloodshot from the smoke. Her whole body was sticky with sweat from the heat, and everything about her smelled burnt and smoky.

To Leo, though, she was still gorgeous.

Calypso's eyes widened when she saw Leo, and he laughed, "Hey Sunshine, how's the cake coming along?"

She glared at him and he sobered up immediately. Leo walked over to her, though he was interrupted by a coughing fit. She started to struggle to her feet, and Leo nudged her back down. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and whispered to her, "Hey. It's alright, we'll get out. Rose is with Katie and Travis calling the fire company. They'll be here any minute."

He was grateful when he felt her relax in his arms when he said Rose was safe, but she tensed up a moment later. She turned her head to look at him.

"L- Leo," she choked out between coughs, "Go. Don't se- sentence he-er to your fa-ate."

"I can't leave you," he said, "I can't live without you."

She glared at him again, and steeled her lungs, "Oh yes, you can. You will not-"

Leo flinched as she was cut off by a coughing fit, and took the chance to speak, "Sunshine, I love you. You've heard how lost I was without you, I can't spend the rest of my life without you."

"B- but Rose-"

"I trust the seven to take care of her, _mi Amor_ , and though I feel horrible, I can't leave you. I can't."

Leo looked at her eyes, foggy as they were. Her breathing was light and racked by coughing. He kissed her. He poured all of his love into one last kiss, and he felt her do the same, as tears were now running down both of their faces. They finally broke apart when they were both launched into another coughing fit.

Calypso's eyes were starting to look more like glass than fog. Leo grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, and felt her grasp it tightly. He tilted her face towards his.

"I love you, Sun-" he felt her hand go limp, "-shine."

Leo reached out, and grabbed the singed moonlace from her hair, clenching it in his face. He broke down right there, crying his eyes out. He had stayed strong for Calypso, now there was nobody to stay strong for him. Leo noticed a knife that had fallen to the floor sitting nearby, glinting in the light of the fire.

 **-()-()-()-**

The sirens were still ringing in Rose's ears, the sound of the water rushing over her home still echoing in her head. _Her home_. It was gone now, nothing but a square of singed earth to tell anyone it had ever been there. And eventually, that would be gone, too.

She knelt beside her father. She hadn't cried. Couldn't. It just couldn't sink in that her parents were dead. Her father's form was cold, and it scared her. She'd never seen him without the warmth he held when he was happy never seen him sad. Certainly never felt the cold touch of his corpse before. She carefully lifted one of his arms, and wrapped it around her, ignoring the cold stiffness and pretending he was still alive and that any minute he'd say ' _Buenas noches, mi regalo,_ don't let the bedbugs bite.'

Rose knew she should be glad they could find her father's body, as there was nothing left of her mother, but she just couldn't be. Never seeing him again would have been better that this. Noticing his one hand was still clenched into a fist, she unfurled his stiff fingers and found a moonlace blossom. It's petals were crinkled, and the little bit of stem still present all smashed and bent, but there was no doubt. It was the blossom that had been in her mother's hair that evening.

The weight of this finally hit her, and it was as if she was carrying the weight of the world upon her shoulders. She was alone. That thought broke her, and she sobbed over the body of her father, realizing she'd never see him or her mother alive and laughing together again. _I hope they're happy in Elysium together_ , she thought quietly.

She ruffled his hair like he'd done to her so many times, then pulled her hand away. She backed away from the corpse, and looked at the stars. This was supposed to be a happy day, her seventh birthday had begun nearly an hour ago. All she felt was a hollow emptiness.

"You promised," she whispered quietly to the stars, as if they could fix what had happened. When nothing happened after a moment, she glared defiantly at them and yelled, "You promised!"

Then, before anyone could stop her, she did the only thing she could think of to do.

She ran.


End file.
